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Self Help: How to Conquer Fear (part 2)

There is a type of fear that can cripple your motivation towards your goals. In self-help it's called learned helplessness. Learned helplessness can be defined as a desire for the future contaminated by helplessness.

The key term is helplessness. You want something, but because you've been unsuccessful getting it in the past, you doubt you can get it now. In your heart of hearts, you believe that nothing you do will make a difference.

Gradually, you begin to back away from the goal, challenge, task, or relationship. Learned helplessness is usually a reaction to a previous disappointment, failure, or loss. It is also known as pessimism.

Robert Downey Jr. recognized that helplessness was part of his battle with cocaine and alcohol addiction from 1996 to 2001. A man of prodigious talent, Downey had the makings of an enduring force in the film industry until he found himself in and out of court and rehab.

Many people wondered why someone who had it all kept sabotaging his own success. In Downey's words, 'Why can't I get out of my own way? It's because you come to believe it's a hopeless situation.'

Downey only made real progress once he focused on believing it was possible for himself to change. This experience is called hope, and it's the stuff of champions. 

I'll talk to you again soon.

Your friend,
Lisa Brown

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

Advanced Self Help Institute
#106, 527 - 15 Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta  T2R 1R5
Phone: (403) 261-2726
Fax: (403) 261-2725
Email: info@lisabrown.ca